June 10, 2010 - National Leadership Training July 11th through July 17th, 2010
Our next big training event for advocates in our community to learn to increase their power and influence in the public policy arena is coming up soon: July 11th through the 17th in Santa Barbara California. If you are a member of the local, state, or national chapter of The Arc please let us know if you are planning to attend this national leadership training. You can register two ways:
The Arc of California is very excited that this summer's national leadership training by the Gamaliel Foundation will be held in California as it will help us to advance our Community Organizing initiative to rebuild the grassroots capacity for our community.
This is a member benefit so don't forget to indicate The Arc of California for the online registration question, "referred to this event by" or list us as your sponsor on the brochure application in the second "organization" question. We are sponsoring advocates from The Arc and those from our community we need to join us in this initiative but if you don't indicate The Arc of California they will charge you double. The cost for the week of lodging and meals and training is $600 total (you will share a room so if you want your own room you pay a $150 additional premium). Our goal is to send up to 30 advocates to this training and from the response during our last board meeting our block may fill up. I went to this training and it was amazing, challenging, and one of the most important trainings I've ever attended. We're all very excited to offer this life changing powerful experience to our advocates.
(Action in front of the Governor's office last year, organized by a local independent living center...)
January 12, 2010 Join Us Saturday February 20, 2010 at the Embassy Suites Hotel 100 Capitol Mall, Sacramento for a powerful one day training to learn the foundations for community advocacy organizing. To register for this training event and our Public Policy Conference visit our site for the Board Meetings and Events at Community Organizing Training with Mary Gonzales, or just register for the organizing advocacy training below:
Saturday February 20, 2009 9:00 am – 5:00 pm......................................................................Community Advocacy Organizing Training – Mary Gonzales ($40.00 members/$65.00 non-members - includes lunch)
This will be a day long training with parents, self-advocates, and provider advocates, and other supporters to look into the power of our community, the potential of the use of that power, and how we build on it and put it into action. This will be the first of several trainings throughout the state as we work to “take back the Act” by supporting and cultivating the leaders in our community today. Our system will be different in 5 years and 10 years the question is who will re-write it? This training is state of the art modern organizing based on historically proven models that will work to support our constituents in rebuilding our grassroots organization and impacting public policy.
This training will feature Mary Gonzales, Western Region Director of the Gamaliel Foundation, an international community organizing foundation that helps people organize and have a voice in today's political environments. Mary began organizing professionally in 1980. Prior to that she was a highly recognized leader in a community organization in Chicago that won many significant campaigns for the immigrant residents of the community. Prior to assuming her role in California, she was the founding director of the Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations, a regional organization in the Chicago area that has successfully brought together a diversity of faith communities representing many races, income levels and cultures. MAC has led powerful campaigns that are building the political will to end inequity in how public and private resources are distributed in the Chicago metropolitan area. Mary is a National Staff member of the Gamaliel Foundation and one of its primary trainers. She trains at all the Gamaliel Foundation training events and often travels to Gamaliel affiliated organizations to train.
Mary Gonzales and her brother, an individual with a developmental disability, were raised and mentored by their mother a very powerful organizer who created an agency for people with disabilities in their local Chicago community. She is Mexican-American, a Chicago native, a resident of the Pilsen community in Chicago, and mother of four daughters.
October 2009The Arc of California Contracts with the Gamaliel Foundation to Retool its Organizing Skills
The Arc of California, the state’s oldest and largest membership association of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, has made a major re-commitment to its grassroots advocacy history by partnering with the Gamaliel Foundation.
“We are undertaking a serious shift in our advocacy from allowing policymakers and the professionals we hire to workout what’s best for us to taking the Lanterman Act back for our sons and daughters of today and for the children with disabilities to come” Dwight Stratton, parent and President of The Arc of California.
Gamaliel is an international social justice organizing foundation that strongly believes that “the greatest advances in this country came when we broadened the diversity of those who sit at the decision making tables.” People with developmental disabilities and their families have been away from the table too long and they are ready to take their seat, in fact some of them will bring their own chairs! Click here to learn more about Gamaliel.
The Arc of California views its new work with Gamaliel as essential in fighting for public policy decisions that honor the state’s promise of the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act that assist all people with developmental disabilities in achieving full participation in our California communities. Our role as The Arc in California is to productively impact every issue that leads to respect and full participation of all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our state and nation and now our training with Gamaliel will assist us in how we go about organizing and galvanizing our constituents for action.
While we fight to ensure a comprehensive statewide system of services and supports we require this system to honor local control, recognize the unique needs of each individual, and respect and support each individual and their families in their self-determined destiny.
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The Arc of California, 1225 8th Street, Suite 350, Sacramento, CA 95814. Office (916) 552-6619, Fax (916) 441-3494
The Arc of California Contracts with the Gamaliel Foundation